The Traitor-Regarding Peter Pettigrew through the eyes of Sirius Black
by AkabaraYashiki
Summary: An account of the event prior to the betrayal of the Potter family as well as the event after their death as told by Sirius Black. An old friend shows up on his doorstep asking for help, a misguided move intended to shield and suddenly, bodies and loyalties strewn left and right and the blame pinned on the wrong man. All canon, no new characters, just plain old storytelling.


**Author's Notes:**

Hello readers! Wow, it has been a long time since I've posted on here. Life has gotten hectic after I graduated University so I've very little time to write. This is the first piece of writing I've written in the last year so please excuse me if it's not my best work. I've always liked to write canon pieces so here's one set in the world of Harry Potter with no new characters involved.

Like most, I've wanted to explore the lives of the Marauders though not quite from their time at school. For this piece, I've chosen to focus on Peter Pettigrew's betrayal of the Potters and how Sirius relented to Peter taking his intended spot as the Secret Keeper to the Potter family's Fidelius charm. The story is told from Sirius Black's point of view and is a very biased account of what happened. Please let me know how I did in characterizing these beloved (or in Pettigrew's case, 'hated') characters by leaving me a comment or sending me a PM Enjoy!

**The Traitor – Regarding Peter Pettigrew**

It was a late spring morning when Peter showed up on the doorstep. Thinner perhaps than I remembered him, his eyes were watery and shifted uneasily around the landing as I scrutinized him through the peephole from behind the closed door. He was wearing a set of older robes, frayed and gray; the sight of them brought back some fond memories that made me smile for just a moment.

"Hello, Peter." I did not open the door. Peter visibly jumped a foot off the doormat. I could hardly contain the amused chuckle that escaped my lips.

"Sirius! I t-thought you were out, I was just a-about to go…" His watery eyes fixed themselves on the small peephole. There was a sort of unspoken plea in that look that James and I could never shake off, not unlike a mouse asking for a sliver of cheese; perhaps that was why Peter got his way more often than not when we were in school together. James, Remus, and I were usually awarded detention while Peter feigned ignorance of the rules. Through the fisheye lens I found the effects of this pleading look compounded.

"What is it, Wormy?" I laughed in spite of myself. It wasn't that I did not want his company, it was just the ill timing of his arrival. James' patronus had just vanished and I was about to depart from home for the new Potter's residence to take part in the Fidelius charm.

"Um, m-may I come in?" his voice squeaked rather timidly.

I paused for a moment unsure of what to answer. I did say that I'd be there soon, but I suppose a half hour later would not make too much of a difference. I opened the door.

"Sirius." Peter hugged my midsection as I shut the door behind him. With my free hand, I pat him on the back. "My f-friend." He had definitely lost weight now that I could see him properly; something like eight kilograms, which made him seem even shorter than he already was.

"Peter," I greeted him warmly, "How are you?" Releasing him, I guided him down the small stretch of entryway where the muggles had laid down a long vertical WELCOME mat. A meticulous family of muggles resided here; I'd tried to keep the place as it was but I could tell that my cleanliness record was going to be broken today: Peter's boots were covered in thick mud.

Once he'd stepped onto the hardwood in the living room, I pulled my wand from my robes. "_Tergeo_." I muttered, pointing at the mat. My wand siphoned the wet grime off the mat and into nonexistence.

"S-Sorry about that." His voice was piteous but earnest.

"It's alright, I should have asked you to remove your shoes." I walked past him to sit down in a large blue armchair. "I should at least try to keep this place clean for when the real owners come back." I glanced at a hanging calendar beside the moving pictures box that the muggles use to amuse themselves. "In about a week."

"I see." Peter sat down opposite me on a gray couch.

The color of the couch was so similar to his suit that he almost seemed to disappear into it. I frowned as I studied his untidy sandy hair; it seemed to be matted with filth as if he hadn't taken a shower in several weeks. Likewise, his face was sweating and dirt could be seen streaked on his face as if he'd tried to wipe it clean and missed some spots.

His entire demeanor was unsettling to me; during out school days he used to be religiously concerned about his own cleanliness as was his MO. While his animagus form was a rat and he kept low to the ground when we roamed about the school and on the grounds, he never did like the dirt that clung to him after our adventures and would immediately hit the showers upon returning to our dormitories. His current state made me wonder if perhaps what he had to say might take longer than the half hour I'd anticipated.

I conjured a bowl of fruit from the kitchen and set it lightly on the glass coffee table between us. "Please eat. You look most…unwell, Wormtail."

"Yes, w-well I have been very…er, busy."

"Is that so?" I plucked a green apple from the bowl and bit into it. The sour juices of the fruit ran down the side of my chin; I moved to wipe them away. "I did not see you at our last Order of the Phoenix meeting." He blinked slowly. "I was worried."

"I'm s-sorry to have w-worried you." His tiny frame seemed to shrink further into the couch as he clasped his hands in his lap almost in a protective manner. "I was…being p-pursued by some D-D-Death Eaters."

"I don't doubt it." Leaning back on the armchair, I stared ruefully at my left hand which clasped the bitten apple. "Yaxley and Dolohov keep cropping up everywhere I go. I've had to change homes four times in the last month—you'd think I had the Trace on me."

"Haha…" Peter laughed nervously. "But t-that's not possible, you're well over s-seventeen." He reached for the single large pomegranate in the bowl. "I've been m-moving a bit too myself."

"Where are you now?"

"Oh, n-nowhere special. J-just in a flat near Piccadilly."

"London, how auspicious. I envy you; how convenient it must be to be able to just walk into the Leaky Cauldron every Friday for a pint."

"Ah well, I sort of k-kicked the drinking habit."

"Have you now?" I took another bite of my apple and continued to talk through a mouthful of fruit. "Good, I always knew you'd pick yourself back up."

"Yeah well it was about t-time." He fiddled with the pomegranate in his hands.

"Certainly." I couldn't see where this was going at all. Surely he did not come here just to chitchat. I glanced up at the wall clock which read 4:47 pm; damn, I was really going to be late. Time to speed things along. "So, glad you were able to find me. What did you need?"

"Oh w-well…nothing special or anything…I just…um…I-I just wanted to know if you knew where J-James and Lily went off to." Peter's stuttering had gotten very bad, I'd noticed that in the last few months he was prone to being very nervous when spoken to. He bit his lip before continuing, "I haven't seen them since…er…before E-Easter so I wondered how they were. And…and I t-thought, of course, S-Sirius must know where they are, James did make him H-Harry's godfather after all, right?" He laughed nervously.

"Oh you heard, huh?"

"Yeah, how was the uh…C-Christening?"

"That was nearly a year ago."

"O-oh, I-I know, how time f-flies!" He laughed again nervously, wiping his forehead with his stained sleeve. "In J-J-July right? H-how was it?"

I studied him for a moment, my tongue tracing the inner rim of my parted lips. He was acting awfully odd, as if he expected someone to Apparate into the house at any moment. "It was fine," I answered before pushing my sheet of black hair behind my ear. "Wonderful even."

"G-great!" Peter directed his attention down at the pomegranate now. "I was just…j-just so worried. N-no one's seen them in a few months…" He successfully tore into the pomegranate. Taking a handful of crimson seeds, he tossed them into his mouth and began to chew them. In between his chewing he continued, "I heard from someone in the Order that they m-moved recently."

"Yes. For their own good, I'm afraid." Biting into my apple, I absently observed the blood red juice dripping down into Peter's lap from his mouth. "Dumbledore said he received a prophecy from someone he was interviewing to fill a Hogwart's position."

"A S-Seer?"

"Most likely, I didn't catch the name. I believe she was a woman. But Dumbledore thinks the prophecy is about them. I finished the apple and placed the core precariously on the armrest. "I'm sorry; I meant, someone relayed to Dumbledore that the prophecy was about them."

"S-Someone?"

Peter's interest was definitely peaking; his voice would rise an octave higher and almost become a shrill noise when he wanted to know something. Suddenly, I was overcome with a tinge of uneasiness, as if I should say no more on the subject. I decided to end the conversation here. "Yes…someone in the Order. Dumbledore did not give a name."

"Ah." His voice deflated considerably. His attention began to drift, his eyes wandering about the room while his fingers fumbled with the pomegranate in his lap.

His eyes looked everywhere but at me. I couldn't keep it in anymore, "Wormy, what's wrong?" He focused his small watery eyes at me. "You're completely out of sorts, and look at yourself—you look filthy. Where have you been, really?"

"I-I…" Peter fell silent and looked away again, this time focusing on the standing musical instrument that sat to my left. I glanced over at it too, the object that so interested him was a lovely full-sized golden harp. I returned my attention to him, starting to see an outline of what this was about. Staring pointedly into his lap, he spoke in a voice lower than a whisper, "I…I've been sleeping on the s-streets."

I knew it. "How much do you need, Wormtail?"

He did not look up. "I-I didn't want to a-ask this of you." He broke off more of his fruit and stuck it into his mouth. "I-I never t-thought I'd fall so…so l-low." The pitiful tone in his voice was only masked by the fact that his mouth was full.

"How much, Wormy?" I repeated again in a steady tone.

"As m-much as you can s-spare."

My fingers found the moleskin bag in the breast pocket of my robes. I pointed my wand into it, "_Accio gold_." A golden shower of heavy galleons spilled out onto the floor. "There's about a hundred or so there. If you need more I'm afraid it will have to wait. I haven't felt safe enough to take the Floo network into Diagon Alley for weeks."

"S-Sirius…" Peter's wet eyes dewed up even more. "H-how can I ever t-thank you?"

"Don't mention it." I replaced the pouch. "Who do you owe money to?"

"N-no one in particular." His eyes darted down to his fruit as he spoke.

Sighing deeply, I flicked my wand at the coins on the table and they sat themselves into a heap on the table. "It's alright if you don't want to tell me. I am assuming you're keeping me in the dark for my own safety."

He scooped up the coins into his hands then placed them carefully into his robes, "Of c-course." His voice had returned to its normal pitch.

"Then, can you tell me how much in total you owe?"

Peter's eyes did not leave his fruit. "T-ten t-t-thousand."

I blinked. "Ten-thousand." My ears did not believe what they heard, "Ten-thousand." I repeated dumbfounded, "Oh Peter, what have you done..?" My hands moved to cover my face and I choked out a laugh, "Ten thousand you say…"

"I-I didn't g-gamble it away, if that's w-what you're t-thinking."

I peered at him through my fingers. I didn't believe a word of it but what could I say? "Very well. Then perhaps it is a good idea for you to visit James."

"Sirius?"

"Only he has ten-thousand galleons to pull out of his pocket." Looking him square in the eye I said, "But don't think you won't have to pay him back eventually."

"O-oh c-c-certainly."

"In that case…maybe he should make you Secret Keeper." I mused aloud.

"S-secret Keeper? As in, the F-f-fidelius charm S-Secret Keeper?" My questioning eyes met his and he looked away hurriedly. "J-just a guess, y-you said they had to g-get away for their own g-g-good."

"Yes, well right you are. If you need to find him there's no point in both of us going there. The Fidelius charm is weaker with each person that knows where the haven is."

"W-would J-James and L-Lily mind if I was their S-Secret Keeper? I m-mean I'd be h-honored, b-but if they already had their h-hearts set on y-y-you, I'd hate to b-be in their w-way."

"Why don't we ask them? _Expecto Patronum_." A silvery wisp wafted out from the tip of my wand and took the form of a small Labrador. Peter gave a quiet hiccup. "Shut up Wormy, I know you're suppressing the urge to laugh."

"S-sorry Sirius, but that never g-gets old." Peter choked back another fit of laughter.

"It gets smaller when I'm under stress."

"W-wouldn't be the only thing."

I threw what was left of my apple at him. He caught it and laughed merrily. For the first time since he stepped foot into the house, he sounded entirely like himself. "Very funny, Wormtail." I laughed and I directed my attention back to the small Labrador. Pointing my wand to my throat, I gave it a message. "_To my dear Prongs, Wormtail is in need of some help from you, so if you are willing, may he go in my stead and preside over the Fidelius charm?_" The lab's outline rippled briefly, then the canine turned heel and leapt through the window.

Peter had given up on plucking the pomegranate seeds out. He simply buried his face into the fruit and a sloppy, wet sound could be heard from his mouth. Sighing yet again, I gave my wand a quick flourish, about a half a dozen tissues materialized on his lap to catch his mess.

"S-sorry." He said between bites.

"It's no problem at all." I smiled at my old friend. "It's good to see you again, Wormtail."

"A-and I, you Sirius." He returned my smile with a toothy grin. His front teeth seemed to be bigger than I remember, as if his rodent traits had started catching up with him.

I shook my head to clear it; any minute now James would send me news and I'd have to bid Peter farewell. Whether he or I would rather die than betray James and Lily to the Dark Lord. I was sure of it.

I looked fondly upon my old friend, recalling memories from our time back at school. Remus would often carry Peter on his shoulders since he was so short. Professor Dippet would catch us in forbidden corridors apparently "lost". On weekends we'd wade into the Black Lake and play like children; the Giant Squid was often seen trying to keep out of our way and in doing so often ended up stranded on the other side of the beach. It would take four levitation charms to put him back. I smiled to myself.

A sudden bright light leapt into the room, Peter dropped his pomegranate and cowered for a moment before realizing it was a large white stag and sat back up looking decidedly dazed. The white animal stood in the center of the room and said in James' steady voice. "_To Padfoot and Wormtail, Lily and I do not mind this arrangement in the least. It may misguide the Dark Lord even more if it was Wormtail and not Padfoot that held the key to our secret. And of course, whatever you need, Wormtail, consider it done. See you soon_." As quickly as it had appeared, the majestic stag vanished without a trace, its task finished.

"It is settled then." I stood up reached into the pocket of my robes to produce a single off coloured sock. "Off you go then." Peter wrapped the remains of the pomegranate in the tissues and placed the fruit into his pocket. Gingerly, took the sock from my hand; his nose visibly wrinkled.

"C-couldn't have found something more…s-sanitary for a portkey c-could they?"

"This one is one of Dumbledore's." I chuckled.

"Ah, I s-see. Of c-course, b-brilliant of him." He took it and pocketed it. "I'll s-spare you the s-scent of it for n-now and u-use it outside."

"Good plan." I patted him on the back. "Then, goodbye my friend. I hope to see you again soon."

"M-me too." Peter looked me in the eye for a moment and I saw a shadow flicker somewhere in his irises, but it disappeared as soon as it had come. "G-goodbye, Sirius, I'll g-give your regards to J-James and Lily." He gave my midsection one final squeeze and turned towards the door.

I watched him go and a wave of sadness overcame me as the door shut behind him. My wand instinctively came out once he left, and my lips casted a cleaning spell I did not consciously mean.

These were dark times, once friends parted there was a chance they would never again meet. In this case I'd given up a chance to see James and Lily so that Peter could pay back his debts. I only hoped they did not have to be in hiding too long. The First Wizarding War must have already seen several hundred magical families torn apart worldwide, and I could not imagine how many would be left intact at the end no matter which side won.

_-a few weeks later-_

My blood was boiling as I raced through the narrow streets behind a heavily breathing Peter. I was livid, driven entirely by vengeance, every part of my body screaming for Peter's blood to be spilt.

I had sent James and Lily to their graves by entrusting their location to Peter Pettigrew. How that lapse of judgement had happened, I could not tell, but I've never cursed myself more.

Our Peter, an agent for Lord Voldemort—who would have thought!

The streets were like a maze; there was no way to get a clear shot at him in such cramped quarters, and with the proximity between us so small, there was a large chance of a curse ricocheting off the walls and hitting myself if I missed.

"_Crucio!_"

I heard the cry before I turned the corner and I willed my feet to stop. The curse bounced off the wall behind me and disappeared in a fizz of magic. I braced the wall and continued on. "_Stupefy_!" I shouted pointing my wand at Peter's back. He dodged it just in time as the red sparks hit a line of neatly sorted rubbish cans behind him.

"_Expulso_!" This time it was his turn to point at the cans. Immediately, they exploded into a shower of metal and other junk. I was too close, and the force of the spell knocked me into a wall of concrete, leaving a large crater in the wall. I shook my head angrily and pulled myself back up; my body was bruised and aching but I hardly felt it. The entire alley was covered in metal, paper, and broken appliances from the explosion; Peter had intended to subdue me.

_That bastard. _

He had already disappeared down the street. I shook my head and pointed at a rubbish can lid, "_Locomotor lid_!" Stepping onto it, I willed it to follow him. Like a magic carpet, the lid zoomed through the street, narrowly avoiding walls with me mounted precariously on it. The metal surface had no friction for my helpless soles to hold onto so I hastily casted a gripping charm on my shoes.

I rounded a corner and screeched to a stop, leaping off the lid. I'd emerged in a bustling muggle street; no one seems to have noticed my sudden halt from flight off a rubbish can lid, but there was too many people to be sure. Everywhere I looked, I saw muggles walking left and right on their way home from work. In the midst of the crowd, I saw Peter; his facial profile had taken on a more pointed shape like a true rat. He seemed to be looking for me as well.

No sooner did I see him, he turned to face me. There was a defiance in his tiny, wet, beetle-like, eyes that I'd never before seen, holding a fire of conviction that I was unaware that he had and for a moment, nothing passed through my mind.

Then, he opened his mouth.

"HOW COULD YOU, SIRIUS?! HOW COULD YOU BETRAY LILY AND JAMES POTTER TO VOLDEMORT?! THEY WERE YOUR BEST FRIENDS! THEY ARE DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU! BECAUSE YOU SOUGHT TO PLEASE THE DARK LORD! I WOULD NEVER BETRAY MY FRIENDS FOR GLORY! YOU HAVE YOURS COMING, SIRIUS BLACK!"

Before I could raise my wand, I saw Peter draw his from behind his back. Muggles in all directions had stopped and were staring at him who was glaring at me.

As if in slow motion, I watched as Peter pointed his wand at the ground behind him. I do not know how I knew what was coming, but my next spell arose to the front of my mind almost entirely on instinct and I waiting for the time to use it.

I heard Peter's shrill voice shriek, "_Confringo_!"

At the same instance I shouted, "_Protego totalum_!"

A vast white shield of magic erupted about fifteen meters away from me shielding six staring muggles from the explosion on the other side. Peter's blasting curse hit the pavement with a deafening noise; the force brought up mounts of granite rock and all around the area people were flying backwards. A Queen's Guard in his red coat slammed into my shield charm and slid down, most certainly dead. Another man carrying a muggle music instrument took the brunt of the force and hit a wall not far away, head first. A police officer went through the window of a flower shop and several others were thrown away from the curse's genesis and flew into the way of oncoming automobile traffic.

In the fray of the destruction, I made out Peter's small figure. He was doing something with his hands. I saw something small fall to the ground and then he made eye contact with me. A very sly grin flitted across his features, he raised a single hand missing his index finger and waved the remaining digits at me. Mouthing the words, 'The Dark Lord sends his thanks', he began to shrink.

"PETER!" I screamed.

But it was no use; he'd scurried away, disappearing into the traffic of the London streets while I was left with the corpses of several muggles and an entire street that believed I betrayed my best friend, his wife and child, and had just slaughtered another friend right in front of them.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath; I couldn't help it, something like a stifled giggle erupted from my stomach and I had to put a hand to my lips to stop myself.

Oh he was clever. Very, demonically clever.

Peter Pettigrew, the timid boy from our youth was gone, replaced by a cold, cunning criminal. He did not have a stuttering problem after all, but his desire to serve the Dark Lord allowed him the ability to act pious and frightened, to fool even those who believed they knew him well. He operated for the Dark Lord right under the Order's noses and not a damn person suspected him. Me, least of all.

I let my hand drop to my side and started to laugh uncontrollably much to the uneasiness of the crowd that was gathering near me. I must seem like such a maniac, cackling in a street strewn with the dead. A wild ecstasy rose through my body, giving me a raw anger that I'd never known before.

An unbidden, violent thought ran across my mind:

When I got my hands on that shameless traitor, I would tear him apart, limb by limb.

-END-


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